Verizon Enterprise Using Data to Make Sense of Holiday Retail
According to the Consumer Technology Association, 116 million American adults — or half the U.S. adult population — will be buying technology during the Black Friday week Nov. 21-28. And Verizon Enterprise Solutions is hoping to help retailers, distributors and manufacturers make sense of that and every holiday shopping trend.
For the third straight year, Verizon Enterprise is launching its retail index, beginning Nov. 21, which tracks ecommerce traffic across Verizon’s broadband networks to the top 25 U.S.-based online retailers, based on annual revenue. That means everyone with a stake in holiday shopping trends will have data coming back for everything from Black Friday to Cyber Monday. The index will also track mobile traffic on Verizon’s wireless network, offering snapshots of mobile commerce trends.
“As last year’s Verizon Retail Index revealed, the message for retailers continues to focus on honing digital strategies and ‘storefronts’ because customers are now living in a digital world,” said Michele Dupré, group VP for retail, distribution and hospitality with Verizon Enterprise Solutions. “While bricks and mortar will continue to play a dominant role this season for capturing wallet share, it’s imperative to make digital experiences seamless for consumers with mobile ‘malls’ in their hands and an incredible, easy-to-navigate array of choices at their fingertips.”
The first index data will come back by 1 p.m. ET Nov. 21, with a Thanksgiving report Nov. 25, Black Friday Nov. 26, Thanksgiving weekend Nov. 28, Cyber Monday Nov. 29, and weekly reports after that.
“Consumers are now wise to the new holiday shopping season ‘normal’ where the old rules no longer apply when it comes to offering incentives, keeping stores open and making those critical conversions,” Dupré said. “The keys for retail success will involve tailoring offers to customers, meeting them where they’re at for convenience and making them feel they are getting value so they do not hold out until the last minute.”
Past reports have found that the post-Christmas retail market is just as important (if not more so) than Black Friday weekend, with lots of shoppers looking for discounts. And Cyber Monday hasn’t been nearly as important as in years past.